Blackhawks to face Blues in first round

Marian Hossa shoots on Blues goalie Brian Elliott during a game on April 6 at the United Center. (Dennis Wierzbicki / USA Today Sports)

Only when the Blues reached the end of their Central Division free fall with a resounding thud Sunday did the Blackhawks finally learn which team they would face in the first round of the playoffs.

The Hawks will begin their defense of the Stanley Cup in St. Louis on Thursday night when they face the Blues in a best-of-seven series.

While the matchup is improbable simply because the Blues dropped their last six games — including a 3-0 decision to the Red Wings on Sunday — to allow the Avalanche to finish in first in the division, the rivalry between the Hawks and the Blues promises to make for entertaining theater.

“I don’t think either team anticipated this,” Blues coach Ken Hitchcock told reporters in St. Louis after the Blues finished 52-23-7 for 111 points — four more than the third-place Hawks. “I don’t think either team loves playing each other, which should make for a heck of a series.”

The five regular-season meetings between the Hawks and Blues — three of them won by the latter — were marked by fierce battles, big hits and plenty of chippiness reminiscent of the glory days of the Norris Division.

“The Blues have had an outstanding season,” Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. “They play a hard game. They play a perfect team game positionally, they play tight, work hard and don’t give you any space.”

Said Blues goaltender Ryan Miller: “(The Hawks) are a dangerous team. They move the puck (and) they’ve got some swagger. It’s going to be up to us to do the things they don’t like.”

It’s an opportune time for the Hawks to face the Blues as St. Louis went 3-7-0 down the stretch and has been besieged by injuries. In Sunday’s regular-season finale, the Blues were without many top players, including David Backes, T.J. Oshie, Patrik Berglund, Brenden Morrow, Alex Pietrangelo, Vladimir Sobotka, Barret Jackman and Vladimir Tarasenko.

It’s likely all but Berglund, Morrow and Tarasenko will be back for Game 1.

“They’re fighting through some different things right now,” said Hawks winger and St. Louis native Brandon Bollig. “I’m sure come playoffs they’ll turn it around and play good hockey.”

The Hawks played down the stretch with both Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane sidelined, but Quenneville said the forwards will “absolutely” be ready for the start of the playoffs.

“They’ve got guys that were banged up that they're trying to bring in,” Hitchcock said. “We’ll have guys that will be coming back, but I would imagine during this series at some (point), every player that was out for both squads is going to be a participant.”

The Hawks completed their 82-game regular season with a 7-5 loss to the Predators on Saturday night to finish 46-21-15. Despite that defeat, the Hawks say they believe they have found their game down the stretch. While everything resets for the playoffs, Quenneville said the regular season can’t be discounted.

“When you’re playing the right way and … you put yourself in this position, that’s why at the end of it all, if you become a champion, it’s the greatest feeling in the world,” he said. “It’s all part of the process. Hopefully we can use what we did over the course of the year in a lot of ways that can help us move forward.”

No Hawks player welcomes the showdown with the Blues more than Bollig, who will relish the opportunity to face his hometown team.

“I’ve never played against them in a playoff series,” Bollig said. “Being my hometown, it (will) be fun to go back and play in an atmosphere like that.”

Bollig will have plenty of family and friends to cheer him on in St. Louis — at least he believes they’ll be cheering for the Hawks.

“I think they’d be rooting for me,” Bollig said with a chuckle. “I’ve tried to convert as many as I can over the years. I think I’ve done a good job and hopefully … we come out on top and I convert a couple of more.”